Pregnancy Update: 17 Weeks

17 Weeks

This past week, I started the prenatal workout DVD that one of my friends let me borrow. I am really enjoying it so far! The workouts are very easy to do because I can still have a conversation, but not strenuous enough to really wear me out (my arms and legs are a little sore, though). Hubby and I are also trying to get as many walks around the neighborhood in as we can.

On Tuesday afternoon, G and I had a chiropractor appointment. We started going to the chiropractor a few months after our wedding when Hubby hurt his back doing yard work. At first, I was very skeptical. Lots of people I know had been to the chiropractor with very little success, and honestly, I thought they were all quacks (sorry to all the chiropractors out there). G's older brother went to school with the chiropractor we now visit, and recommended him to us. After getting used to the process, and seeing immediate results with my Honey after being adjusted, I jumped on board and started going regularly as well. I was very impressed with how much better I felt right away, and I didn't even know I was hurting! Anyway, later that night after our appointment, at about 10:40pm, I was laying in bed on my stomach to see if I could detect any movement from the baby. Up to this point, I had felt nothing that I could confidently say was a kick or wiggle. After laying on my stomach for about 15-20 seconds with my hand on my abdomen, I suddenly felt this flurry of movement that could only be the baby! My heart skipped a beat! It felt like something was kicking me wildly from the inside, and it completely caught me off guard. I couldn't believe I was actually feeling something so significant because I hadn't expected to feel anything at all (especially not thrashing). A few minutes later, Garrett felt what he described as movement from one side to the other, as if the baby were turning or flipping around. We were so excited! Needless to say, I didn't sleep well that night because I kept wondering if the baby was kicking. Then, yesterday morning, I woke up on my stomach (which is normal for me) and I felt more movement! I have no doubt that getting adjusted greatly contributed to our ability to feel the baby, and highly recommend that anyone and everyone search high and low for a great chiropractor - even if you aren't pregnant.

Since I lost about five pounds during the first trimester, I've been doing what I can (healthfully) to gain the weight back. When I remember, I weigh myself in the morning before breakfast. Yesterday, I weighed in at 118.8lbs, which is up several ounces from a few days ago, but today the scale read 118.4. I haven't been a big eater since my teenage years, and back then I realized that a lot of my eating and snacking came from boredom rather than actual hunger. So towards the end of my highschool years, I became more conscientious about when I was starting to feel full, and I would stop eating at that point. It was a really great thing to do (because I was seriously becoming a glutton), but my metabolism is so high that it makes it hard for me to gain much weight. This is both a blessing and a curse, I guess. Anyway, at this point in the pregnancy, I'm fixing myself bigger portions of healthy food, and trying to eat as much as I can. I'm still not going to eat if I'm feeling full, but I try and push through the frequent moments when I just don't want to eat anymore. Usually in those moments, I still feel hungry, but don't feel like I can eat (which probably makes no sense to anyone else unless they're also pregnant). I think it's helping so far. My end of the day weight will frequently be several pounds heavier than my morning weight, and I am seeing a gradual increase in that as well.

My beautiful Katherine Anne
on the day of my wedding.

Last week, G and I went on the hunt for more baby names. Until recently, we had a name picked out for a boy and a girl. We're keeping the names a secret until the baby is here, but since I had to cross the girl name we had off the list, I can share what name we had picked out. Our girl name was going to be Kathryn Ann (Katy Ann for short), after my best friend Katie who died in a tragic bicycling accident in April of this year. It turns out that G's cousin named her little girl Kathryn Anna though, which was too close, so we decided to pick a new name. I'll find another way to honor Katie. It's surprising how difficult it is for me to find a girl name that I like. We have three or four boy names - first AND middle - lined up, which is great if we have all boys, but for some reason I'm not liking a lot of the girl names that are out there (and using names from The Lord of the Rings would put me on a whole new level of geekiness). I think we have decided on a replacement name though, which I like just as well. Unless another close relative turns up with the same name (which isn't likely), we should be set!

Stretch marks still haven't made their appearance, though I fully expect them to at some point. There was one day when I had worn sweatpants, and the elastic left an imprint on my skin that I thought were stretch marks at first (major pregnancy brain moment), but it was a false alarm. I'm trying to put lotion on as often as I can to keep my belly from getting dry and itchy. There have been several times recently when my lower abdomen felt really tight and uncomfortable. Most of the time though, I feel normal. For the record, I think stretch marks are so beautiful. They are a medal of honor, and a testimony to the pain and struggle a mother has experienced to bring forth new life into the world. Whenever I get them, I'm going to wear them proudly.

Yesterday, I talked to a lady from the midwifery I am going to use to deliver my sweet one, and we discussed ultrasound appointments to determine the sex of the baby. Originally, they sent you to a separate place for the ultrasounds, but since some recent changes have been made within the company, they now offer ultrasounds at their main offices. This is super convenient for me! We worked out scheduling, and decided the best day for me to come in for an ultrasound - and my next prenatal appointment - is on August 28th. I have to wait a week longer than what we had planned previously (August 20th), but I'll be exactly 20 weeks on that day, so I think it will be better. That way, I'll have no hesitations on whether or not the technician is correct about the sex! At that point, what we're having will be pretty set in stone.

I am also researching childbirth classes in my area. So far, the Bradley Method seems most appealing to me. Not that it doesn't work or anything, but I'm just not into all that "hypnobirthing" stuff. The idea that my G could have a role to play in the labor process is also something I like. If anyone has any suggestions about classes or videos that would be good to watch, or good food to eat so that I can gain weight (without binge eating Taco Bell), I'm all ears!